Motor vehicle



June '24, 1941. A; HICKS 2,246,848

MOTOR VEHICLE Filed Oct. 3, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l I KIK un mir I i 1 I I11y VENTOR Harald fl /VZ 6 ATTORNEYS.

June 24, 1941. H. A. HICKS MOTOR VEHICLE Filed 001:. 3, 1938 2Sheets-Sheet 2 m 5 .N m% m v c T mi w flara/J f9: BY W I Patented June24, 1941 i hicle bodylstructureslan d mountingsthereior.

Efforts in the' Past 'hauejbeen dirctedtoward p coding? bd istrucw e for nsa max m m amount of for its weight, j Inasmi h as a body structuremustbe used inthe' vehicle it is I .panymgdr wingsmwhichx 'logical'tosoconstructthe gthatlvit, will absorb thei loads rather than to rely'lf'r' the most part on" 1a structure" on ,which a body is separatelymounted; When the; body" isf constructe'd function jthe entire vehicleframe r then difliciilty has'beenf'experienced inIthat 'road shocks give"rise 'tofopjectionable harshness 1 through the body. harshnesslisparticularly I accentuated when the body structure 'is 'niounte'd onconventional types oi independently sprung ground wheelswhereinobstructiQnsstrikhfiihe wheels cause shocks to'be transmittedito I ebody resultinginharshness, y c. 1 I Harshness may be'definedas'aiyibration; less in frequency sound and of greater'irequency than.a. shake. Vibrations producing harshness in a. body are particularlyannoying andirritating to the occupants of the vehicle.

In= view of the tendency of very rigid vehicle" 'body structures to giverise to harshnessithisjtype of body has been-generally consideredfas,impracticable commercially althoughj theoretically highly desirablefrom'allother viewpoints; I

:I have discovered a system of body structure v ,.por ation (if-DelawareH .iAisp efiqm eb mew Cia'ims. (o 29mm v front endof area: springnountiz ig. i a

1 siuchfarrangen ent the shear rubber wheel suspension mountings.

idicated by.

i'gi a sideelei/ationalfiiew for mhebo yrtamwbrk;

fliF egide i T ct ona b nlv wlta as e2,- -2 of Fig. 1 --and:showing a aFig: '3 is adetail sectional, eyational yiewrtaken fjasmdicated byinea+a (ii-Fig.2"

is. 4 jis 1,9 7 view cor e p n to he ,2

5 showing a ni'odified arrangement of mounting.

' Fig; 5 la fdetail sectional elevational view pgken s 'meieated byjun5+5er Fig. 4H

Fig'; 6 a detail side elevational iew; of the rigg'z is a'se'ctional vewijt ken as in'dicated by Fi'g'f'8- detail Side elevators the i and.,mountingwhich f the use of the desizable. rigid body structure Wthoutf'separate chassis and at thes'a'n'ae time eliminatingharshnesswithout body.. n

I therefore preferablyjemploy a body of maximum rigidity" obtainedbytruss-likelside body sloping at {their "frontfand rear 7 endsapproximately at the-front and rear ends the fro'nt and "wheel mountingswithf'the body We thereby dampening objectionable "vibrations attheirsource: I"preferably employ I tions of chordfilll. Thus; some" rearend the 1 shearv suspension" hate heretofore 1 :proposed but, so far" asaware, newly heretofore receivedu e'ag vs tages w derived by employingas an "organization a strutted trusslike and chassisless'bod'ystructurein conjuncon wi we: ve s s 111 rear end-of a rear spring mounting.

Fig. 9 is a sectional yiew taken" by meanin to drawings; I haveillustrated 1a motor-vehicle A somewhat "diagrammatically comprising ,a-rigidi -framework which may be iabricated any suitablemanner, Iframework oomprises side structures each of truss-like v form bracedtransversely ofithemvehicle by the usual froo dashendbottom-crossbracing as will bereadilyunderstoodw r fi q i e n' h id H e t e -0 u ryf rm i "1 i. e i i .weld dT rlv h w e i d nected; the chord I 0extending approximamly the the* doorjpost brace l l "and the front. postl2. 1 The compression structural member "I 3,015 the extends along thetop ofthef body and is arched'by irontand structuralextensior'is soash-x170v emcienfly receive the mm the enclpor- .,,windshield1postportion of the 'post l2 and then' ,hbranchesito provide the-"strutlawman may have forwardly and "downwardly it IS "to am the a extension ll joined thereto at" I8 I QyithQthe transverse "dash ll disposedtherebewheel-fittweem Thelowenendavof strut extension 11 is 2 's,s4e,s4ssecuredatfltochordlpreferablyadjacentthe"swingthroughaplvotpin'flmortedbythe front end of the latter. bracket llldiacent the rear end of diord l3.

'IheiilustratedsidetrussisadditionallybracedIntheI'ig.4modiflcation,thecnnkpol-tlon vertically by post 2| whichconnectsmember l3 3l'ismountedbymbberimitsB'eachcomprhwith the auxiliarychord member 22 adjacent the rear wheel 23. The various structuralmembers throughout the body A may be hollow tubes. solid, or otherwisefashioned to carry the stresses and provide a rigid body structure.

In my drawings I have shown the front steer-- ing wheels, one of whichis illustrated at 24, of the independently sprung type and the rearwheels 23 carried by an axle 25 mounting the rear of the body of theleaf springs 2 although in the broader aspects of my invention the frontand rear wheels may havethe same type of springing. 4

Each front wheel 24 is carried by a spindle 2'l steerable around kingpin 28 by the usual-steer ing arm 29. The king pin 23 connects spindle21 with the oscillatingsupport arm 30 which is supported by the bodystructure to accommodate rising and falling of the spindle 21 and itswheel independently of the other similar front wheel assembly.

The arm 30 has a crank portion 3| to which is secured a cylindricalrubber composition mass 32 anchored at its outer surface to the Onemethod of accomplishing the desired assembly is to vulcanize the rubber32 to crank 3| and also to an outer sleeve 33 held'by lug 34 to thecylindrical cap portion 35 of the bracket 33. Transverse member 31connects the front ends of theside chords II and is recessed .at 38 toreceive the bracket 36. Fasteners 39 assemble the cap 35 and bracket 33to cross member 38 and thereby support the rubber unit B in place.

The rubber unit comprising'parts 3|, 32 and-33 tively dampened by theDates the shocks and stresses forms a torsional rubber spring for wheel24 insulating the body from the wheel against shock transmission. As thewheel 24 rises and falls the rubber 32 is placed in torsional shear byits yielding action, the rubber supporting the body load in this manner.For stability I have employed-two rubber units for each support arm 30as best seen inFig. 2.

For most direct load transmission fromthe torsional units B to the bodyA, the struts ll terminate downwardly at the points where the units 13load the respective chords It. Additional transverse braces betweenchords II are indicated at 43.

At the rear, the front end of each spring 2 has the main leaf thereofformed with eye ll carrying bushing 42 threadedly engaging shackle pin43. This pin is connected, through rubber pads or wafers acting inshear, with the bracket 44 fixed to chord ll adjacent the juncture ofpost 2| and member 22 with the chord so that the load at bracket 44 isdistributed efllciently to the body truss. Thus at each end of pin 43'there is an assemblyC comprising a shearrubber pad 45 vulcanized toplates 43, 41 respectively secured as by pressed flt with the openingsllcombination, a rigid more effecahear action of rubber rings 33 than forshocks at crank 3| in Fig. l.

of, most emc'ient the wheels 24 are entirely insu- B" from thebody andlikewise the rear wheels assemblies C. The rubber'action in sheardissistructure from harshness during normal running of the vehicle.

between the body resisted and dampened in the front and rear wheels. Atthe rear the rubber pads 43 of the units C compressively resist lateralmovement, as when the vehicle is rounding a curve. At the front wheelsuspension the rubber 32 of units BisplacedinshearaxiallyofthecranksflwhileinFlgAtherubberMllareplacedincom- Dression.

I do not limit pectsthereontoanyparticularcombinationand the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A chassisless motor vehicle in combination, a rigid truss-like bodystructure extending approximately the length of the vehicle, front andrear ground wheels. and articulating support means including membersadapted for vertical yielding but substantially'incapable of. horizontalyielding-for operably connecting certain of said wheels with said bodystructure, each of said support means including a body of rubbersubjected to shear when the connected wheel strikes an obstruction inthe roadway whereby horizontal shocks are said body structure includingan upright truss brace at each side of the vehicle intermediatesthelength thereof and a strutinclined forwardly and downwardly from each ofsaid upright brains for connection adjacent the rubber body of one ofsaid front wheel support means.

2.,A chassisless motor vehicle in truss-like body structure extendingapproximately the length of thenground wheels, and articulating supportmeans operably connecting each of said wheels with'said body each ofsaid front wheel support means accommodating rising and fallingwheelmovements independently of the wheels and a body of rubber subjected toshear when the connectedwheel strikes an obstruction in the 3. Achassisless motor vehicle comprising, in

amlfreesthebody' combination, a rigid truss-like body structureextending approximately the length of the vehicle, front and rear groundwheels, and articulating support means operably connecting each of saidwheels with said body structure, each of said front wheel support meansaccommodating rising and falling wheel movements independently of theremaining wheels and including a body of rubber subjected to shear whenthe connected wheel strikes an obstruction in the roadway, each of saidrear wheel support means including a body of rubber subjected to shearwhen the connected wheel strikes an obstruction in the roadway.

4. A chassisless motor vehicle comprising, in combination, a rigidtruss-like body structure extending approximately the length of thevehicle, front and rear ground wheels, and articulating support meansoperably connecting each of said wheels with said body structure, eachof said front wheel support means accommodating rising and falling wheelmovements independently of the remaining wheels and including a body ofrubber subjected to shear when the connected wheel strikes anobstruction in the roadway, each of said rear wheel support meansincluding a longitudinally extending leaf spring and a body of rubberbetween each end of the spring and the body subjected to shear when theconnected wheel strikes an obstruction in the roadway.

and means including rubber operably disposed v between said members andsaid body structure;

said rubber being subjected to shear when said wheel strikes saidobstruction whereby horizontal shocks are absorbed.

HAROLD A. HICKS.

